Multiple fruit peeler and shredder



Nov. 13, 1-951 1.. B. MAXWELL 2,574,794

MULTIPLE FRUIT PEELER AND SHREDDER Filed June 7, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet l B ZeoMaBmdsMMm/ell A TTORNE Y Nov. 13, 1951 L. B. MAXWELL 2,574,794

MULTIPLE FRUIT PEELER AND SHREDDER Filed June 7, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS Nov. 13, 1951 5, MAXWELL 2,574,794

MULTIPLE FRUIT PEELER AND SHREDDER Filed June 7, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

I ZeomBrazls/zaWMaWe/l BY 7.? z W4 m ATTORNEY Nov. 13, 1951 L. B. MAXWELL 2,574,794

' MULTIPLE FRUIT PEELER AND SHREDDER Filed me 7, 1949 V 5 Sheets-Sheet s Jay 8.

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A T TORNE Y Patented Nov. 13, 1951 UNI ED .5 TAT E S EN T ICL'E MULTIPIJE'FRUIT PEELE-R AND 'SHREDDER Leoma B. Maxwell, Avon Park, Fla. Application June 7, 1949,-Serial No.-" 97,57 5

6 Claims.

This. invention. relates .to; asmechanism :to. peel I eadditional: object zof myiinvention; is Tithe .and/or pare fruits :of'the citrus variety such as oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, :etc., 'as well as, for instance, apples, plums and other related fruits. The machine .is a wholly automatic mech- 5. 'anism which completely and ehiciently removes the outer peel, as well as the :entire outside membranes which are .usually presentgnext .to the peel. Itis so designed that the ..fruit :need'not .be handled manually. fromthetime the same is fed intoithefeed hopper until it is-removed from the discharge bin containing the peeled fruit.

The mechanismof this inventionis .so designed .that the peelings or scrapings, from vtheexterior of the fruit'can be routed; through common me- 5. chanical mea-ns-to further apparatus for additional processing such 'as drying, the peelings be- .ing reducedto a fine-shred suitable" foriurther manufacturing processes.

Various-methods have lbeenwutilized heretofore to accomplish the purposes of the present .invention, but by and large, these methods or mechanisms have involved complex and expen- ..sive arrangements or -parts, are usually diflicult to operate, and generally have not obtained'the desired processing wherein the peeling is comwherein it is unnecessary to pierce the fruit with some form of spike, impaler. or other implement to hold it in position for-peeling; but wherein the fruit is peeled by. two cups provided with cutting elements which are rotated inopposite directions to each other. The structuresinvolved in the holding of the fruituti-1ized by my invention consist merely of hemispherical receptacles, provided with peeling "blades, mounted in a floating and resilientfashion to .permit them to exert a constant pressure against the outer surface of the fruit.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a rotating turret fittedwith thesaid peelingcups and arranged lac-automatically receive fruit from a suitable hopper at "predetermined intervals such that the fruitris rapidly seizedbetween the rpeeler cups, peeled duringthe rotation of the latter in the turret and automatically discharged into; a suitable bin. Atrthis-same time peelings tor shredsareemittedfromthe turret,.-and may be carried. by arconveyorto anadjacent location for further processing.

provision of asimplified cam mechanism which efiicient'ly;separatesrtheapeelericupsiatcpredeteb iniined;intervals:.-for::reception10f :therfruitatome peeled; and; a" simplified; feedervcamaction vv'vhich :automatica-lly andsa'lso predeterminedlypharges :the' fmitiintoztherseparate'd cups when the'rlatmr .are open :position.

Aiiiurtherpbjective and advantage of thisinsvention' .r-is f the ."design of azm'echanism :relating etc which permits the sections thereof te the resiliently mounted. Thereds no rother'runyielding .support for these peeler-units :and hence they are flexibly supported, may. be *-easily iexchanged or replaced'and henceare adaptable to various uses and various sized fruits. It-is apparent that other objects and advantages 1 of: my :inven- 'tion will "be :recognized from the'following ide- -tailed description of :a preferred =-:embodiment thereof asillustratedin the accompanying-drawings.

"In the drawings Figure 1 isasi'de elevation of the multiple -;fruit peeler and shredder" embodying my invention;

*Figure'Z is atopplan view of the invention illustrated in -Figure l Figure? isa sectional view taken on-theline *3 3"-of Figure '1, exhibiting two of 'the =peeler cups in their separated position;

Figure 4 is a-sectional view'of a pairoi peeling units, indicating. in detail themanner in which these units are mounted;

.lEigureais anendyiew Mom of the hemispherical peelingcutsshowing the arrangement .of the. cutting .elements;

.Figurefids adetailed. CIOSSrSGCIhiOIlB/I view .of tthe.arrangementofthe. cutting elements of. each themispherical peeling unit;

Figure 7 risianaend viewrof one ..of. the spider elements which support.eachhemisphericalpeeline u t;

sFEigure- 8 is-zan;.-.elevationzof a. modified iormz-of ,1 peelerzcupa separating mechanism;

Figure 9 is a top plan view of a detail of the separating mechanism shown in Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a sectional view of a feeder mechanism taken on line Iii-l of Figure 2;

Figure 11 is an elevation of the feeder mechanism taken on the line HI| of Figure 10;

Figure 12 is a detailed cross-sectional view of the clutch assembly adapted to prevent rotation when the peeler cups are separated.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings as itemized in the foregoing, I have shown a continuous and completely automatic multiple fruit peeler and shredder and have indicated thereby apparatus which is suitable for carrying out the method comprising my invention.

Referring to Figure 1, it will be seen that the rotating turret hereinbefore referred to is generally indicated at I. It comprises two generally circular elements I!) and Illa oppositely mounted upon a central shaft, and, to all practical purposes, identical in every respect. The whole turret may be entirely covered by a protective shielding, although in the embodiment illustrated, the

shield 2 extends only partially over this rotating element. The turret is suitably mounted upon a table structure 3. A feed hopper 4 of common design is utilized to direct a plurality of oranges,

apples, or similar fruit to the automatic feeder. 'Upon completion of the peeling operation the fruit is discharged through a bin for storage 'or for such further processing as is necessary. The feeder element, which will be described hereinafter, is mounted upon an additional table or "supporting structure 6.

- Although not shown in this illustration of my invention, it is apparent that a suction conveyor system or vacuum process can be mounted underneath the table 3 in such fashion that the suction conveyor or vacuum will receive the shreds or peelings from the fruit and carry them to an adjacent position where they can be further processed by known methods. In such case, an appropriate shield for the conveyor can also be utilized and I have diagrammatically shown such at I in Figure 1. l

The two main side elements of the rotatable turret, namely Ill and Illa, upon which the peel- :ing mechanism and drive therefor are mounted,

is positioned upon a shaft II, which in turn has afiixed thereto a suitable pulley l2, whereby the shaft l l and turret may be driven in a counterclockwise direction. This shaft is rotatably supported at either end in brackets 13 and M which are fitted with suitable bearing members 15 as indicated in Figure 3. These brackets are posite directions, it will be seen that the right hand cups, or those engaged with the spur gearing illustrated in Figure 1, are driven through a series of three pinion gears. The large and first gear A engages an intermediate spur gear B which in turn drives the spindle gear C, the latter being affixed to the shaft upon which the peeler cups are assembled, and thus constituting the drive for the latter. The gear A is mounted upon a suitable shaft l8 designed to rotate independently of shaft H. The shaft i8 is driven through pulley 20 at a uniform rate of speed, preferably at lower revolutions per minute than the drive for the eight peeler cups shown.

The opposite side of the mechanism of the turret which I have just described is exactly the same in every detail, except that there is no drive for shaft l I. As will be seen from an inspection of Figure 3, the main, intermediate and spindle gears, D, E, and F, bears a corresponding relationship to the gearing I have already referred to. Similarly, the shafting for each set of gears on either side of the turret is the same. For instance, gear D is mounted upon the same type of shaft Ilia which will permit its rotation independently of the rotation of shaft i l. Intermediate spur gears B and E are mounted upon fixed shafts such as those indicated at Z! and 3| and the two spindle gears C and F are mounted upon opposite shafts 22 and 32. Suitable bearings 23 and 33 for shafts 22 and 32 must of be course be provided. The drive for the in dividual peeling cups on the left of the mechanism corresponds to the pulley 20 and is indicated at 30.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, it should be noted that the spindle gear C and F, and all other gears corresponding thereto which directly drive the individual peeler cups, are designed with teeth of relatively great width. For instance, these spindle gears as here shown are approximately four times the width of teeth such as those found upon intermediate gears A, B, D and E. This increased width of the spindle gears permits them to move horizontally upon their respective shafting but at the same time to remain engaged with such intermediate gearing. Thus, when the cups are moved outwardly or opened, and the corresponding spindle gears are also moved outwardly by suitable cam action which will be described hereinafter, the said spindle gears do not become disengaged with their complementary intermediate gearing, as for instance, B and E.

Any desired arrangement of motors or propelling force can be utilized to drive, firstly, the turret upon which the peeler cup assemblies are mounted, and secondly, the respective peeler cups in opposite or counter-rotating directions. However, I have found it desirable to employ two individual electric motors for this purpose. These are indicated in dotted lines at 40 and 5B in Figure 2. Motor 40 is interconnected through a suitable coupling 4| to a gear box 42 designed to transmit speed of different rates to the shafts 43 and 45. Thus, shaft 43, driving the main turret, is designed to propel the turret at a relatively low rate of speed and shaft 45, designed to rotate the right hand set of peeler cups, will revolve at a comparatively higher rate of speed. The relative rate of speed of each shaft can be controlled by appropriate speed reduction mechanism well known in the art. These two shafts, 43 and 45, are connected through complementary pulleys 44 and 46 and the usual belting 47 and 48 to drive the gear mechanism which has already been described. Although it is conceivable that the motor 40 can be provided with shafting on both ends or otherwise fitted so that suitable gearing could also drive the mechanism for rotating the left hand peeler cup assemblies, I have found that the use of an additional motor 50 is more desirable. The latter motor may be directly connected to the left peeler cup assembly through the usual pulley 52 and belting 53, and if desired,

utilized as shown they will exert a constant pressure toward the fruit, exerted through each section of each of the cups. Hence, irregularities in the skin of various fruits, as well as irregularities in the size thereof, may be compensated for by this combination of resilient shredder cups divided into segments, each segment of which is backed by a resilient spring means.

Each hemisphere or peeler cup is also additionally supported by a screw Tl threaded into the appropriate axis 22 and 32 as the case may be. In order that the said screw may be provided at its head with a cutting element, it may be fitted into an appropriate depression I3 as shown in Figure 4. The head of screw 11 preferably has formed thereon blades I8 and 19 which are'of sufiicient size to overlap or at least meet the cutting elements on each of the segments nearest the axis of the shredder cup. When so mounted, the blades 18 and I9 assure peeling of the fruit at its axial center or at the portion thereof which would not ordinarily be reached by the cutting elements in the various segments which I have heretofore described.

These screws I1 may be adjusted in such manner to enable certain adjustments of each cutting hemisphere by screwing them in or out of their respective shafts with which they are in threaded engagement. The interior contour of the segments may be changed and therefore, to some extent the bite of the cutter blades upon these various segments. These adjusting screws 'I'I further permit the operator to vary the distance between peeler cups when the same are in their normal closed position to carry out the shredding operation. This adjustment is facili tated by the manner of mounting the shredder cups already described: The pronged element 63 and the springs 16 permitting a certain amount of free movement of the peeler cups, which-moveu I cups, both during peeling, and when opened to receive fruit, are clearly indicated in Figure 3. Here open cups which are'separated to receive the fruit at a predetermined interval are indicated generally at 80 and 8|; and shredder cups which are closed and engaged in the actual peeling operation are generally designated at 82 and 83. Normally, these hemispheres will be positioned together as in the latter instance by the exertion of a suitable spring 85 mounted upon each of their respective drive shafts and positioned between each cup and the respective side I or I0a of the turret. As shown, these springs bear, at their outer extremity, upon bearings 23 and 33 in which the peeler cup shafts are mounted. Such springs must, of course, be designed in such manner that the cups will be held together with suflicient force to successfully carry out the peeling operation, yet should not exert such thrust that the clutch operation or cup separating mechanism would be unduly retarded. Each of the shafts upon which these shredder or peeler devices are mounted, such as the ones indicated at 22 and 32, is provided with a roller 90 which may or may not be firmly affixed to the said shaft 22. When the clutch device illustrated in Figure 12, to be hereinafter described, is utilized as a component part of this mechanism-then the collars will be mounted to turn with each of the shafts 22. Such collars are, of course, provided with retention means to maintain them upon the drive shafts such as end bolts 9| or other suitable means well known in the art. The collars90 are adapted to engage two cams 92 and 92a which are located at such a position that during a portion of the cycle or rotation of the turret these collars will engage the cams and be forced outwardly with respect to the midline' of the turret. I have shown the cup separating control cams as resting upon and aflixed to the table structure I6 by means of appropriate brackets 93 and 94, fastened to the said structure in any usual manner such as by suitable angle elements 95. Each cam is provided with a taper 96 and 96a at each of its terminal ends. The taper just referred to enables the element 90 to be picked up along the said taper and gradually forced outwardly to its final position generally indicated at 98. Upon the completion of the operation of opening the hemispheres the elements 90, the gear ing C and F and associated mechanism, resume their original positions by thrust of the several springs 85, gradually being allowed to return to position over thetapers 91 and 9111 at the opposite end of each cam. From the foregoing it will be seen that a simple expedient is here utilized to open and close the peeler cups at designated and predetermined intervals. This can be accomplished with split-second timing such that the feeder mechanism does not interfere with the closing of the cups immediately prior to, as well as after, the fruit has been charged between each pair of shredder units.

As an alternative mechanism for separating the cups, I have disclosed an additional method by which'this might be accomplished. Referring to Figure 8, the two sides [0 and Ma of the turret are provided with pairs of transverse arms I00 and NH located immediately above the center axis of the several drive shafts to each cup. These arms provide a bearing support I05 upon which is suspended a rocker arm made in one section but provided with two legs I08 and I09, the latter being of sufficient length to engage its counterpart upon the opposite side of the turret mm. The longer leg has a slot I I0 adapted to receive a sliding bolt III, and the shorter length of such rocker arm terminates in a fork H5. This fork is afiixed to a sliding collar II6 by means of bolts, screws or other common media II! and H8. The collar H6 is in turn. slidably or rotatably positioned upon a grooved wheel or pulley I20. The cams I have referred to, such as 92 and 92a, can be so designed, within the skill of the art, that they provide a trackway in which the grooved pulley I20 can ride during the time it is forced outwardly to open the cups. Alternatively, such cams may be devised to ride between the gear C and the inner side of the pulley I20. In any event, it is apparent that when the cam forces the pulley and its accompanying mechanism outwardly as shown at I25, the longer arms I09 and "Mia, will assume a horizontal position with respect to the turret as generally indicated at I40. In'this position the complementary spiders and associated shredder cups are forced apart to the relative positions generally indicated at I30. This combination of elements which has just been referred to also definitely limits the amountof: separation ofthe: cups and positively: assures th'eirreturntoca peeling-positionzat a time predetermined by the--setting or arrangement of the aforesaid eams.,.92iand 92:1 Itcan be readilyappreciated that. if continuous. cams; were provided, that is; throughout 360; they: could: be I so. arranged as; to, ..not only; provideila; trackway for. pulley Izfltorideiupons butto com troliboth; the" outwardaas :well as I inward movementzof: the shredder cups: If so 2; designed the; trackway enabling reciprocation. of;' the peeler: cupsainibothxdirections; spring. means; 85;, if .dee

sired, canibe-ldispensedwithc I haveaheretofore. referred to; means :for :-auto..- matically feedingfruit :from1a suitable hopper I t to. the, turret and between; thel shredder cupslat the. desiredv interval. This-,feeder: mechanism is motivated, by intermittent --contact-v with cams I 56 asthe: turret rotates in a counterclockwise direction,. These cams. I58, iakerthe formf projections-'upon-the periphery- 0f.eachtturret side I0 and .-I0a-.. That side ofeach. cam adapted to, ini:- tially; engage the feeder assembly so as to force itlbackwardly is-curved as, at I5I. The opposite side of each cam terminates abruptly oronaline extending right angularly to, or radially of. the center: axis of: the turret, as shown; in. Figure .l. Suchcams are; adapted to-reciprocate; the feeder assembly in a manner now .to .be described. The feeder assembly. is mounted upon a: suitable. base I82 raisedto the desiredheight by legs I53 and I54. Integral .with the base I 82.. is fabricated a forward projecting finger or, arm I55 extending, vertically to thesaidbase and designed as-a stop, for fruit which is charged'into the turret by the feeder assembly. The base at it oppositev end also has an upwardly extendingplate member I56 designed to'maintain one end of the feeder spring in position. The feeder itself comprises asliding. element ,1 51 which has two slots I60 and I51 along opposite sides thereof and in-parallel relationship with respect to eachother adapted tolslidably engage bolts orprojections I52and I 53. Near its forward end or toward the turret, the sliding plate I51 has a vertical plate member I65terminating in: a horizontal fruit support I66. This forward plate-"I65-is also fitted with extending projections- IBTand I68-spaced'apart so as to partially surround an orange, for example; and hold-it-in a suitable and firm position'for feeding, it into the shredder cups. Normally, the fruit support and" accompanying, sliding mechanism willlbe located inan extended position or as shown in Figure 10. This position is maintained by a helical spring I80 which encircles a liding assembly attached at one I end to the forward plate I65 and at'the opposite end to the rear plate I56. For instance, this slid v ing; assembly may consist of a rod I10, approximatelyone-half'of which is of reduced diameteras at 1', the reduced portion of the rod being adapted to fit in piston-like fashion into a complementary rod I12 having a suitable bore to receive element I'Il. Rod I'IOis aifixed as at IN to the rear plate in any suitable manner such as by welding or threaded engagement with saidrear plate. The tubing or rod I12. is similarly affixed to the forward plate I65fas indicated at. I I5. The extent. which thefruit support I66andits related mechanism may becollapsedtisli'mited by the appropriate bearing surface orcollarsI'IB and III. which, when adjacent and bearing .against each,

' other, prevent additional retraction ofthelfeeder' asssembly. Retraction beyond adesiredpoint .is alcprevented by making slots Hill-and, IBIof the desiredilength, and .also i limited by, the. dis;

tance each cam .I EO lprOjBctS IrOm -the periphery of thetur-retsides I 0 and I Ila,

In order that this assembly can be rapidly res.

ciprocated in amanner whichwill assurelits feed--.

55 ing fruit into the-shreddercups .at desirableintere 0,; spheres will not interferewith thecontinued; counterclockwise.rotation of the latter upon the. turret. I havefound-that this ty pe of:.-feeder is.

I lla. .Ofa; the. turret; Inrthe latters counterclock- Wise rotation, these rollers Will engage the several cams i 5.8: which; will force 2 the said rollers out fromthe turret and;back.;into the position shown at I65. In this ,lattenposition. a sinelefru such as n or n e is p mittedtto dropdownwardlyp 20g between the forward plaie-lfifiand. the tworetaining, mernbers IGland; IE8: and will beqheld there, until the rollers reachthe endof the cam surface,- I5I. At this: time theforwarcl: plate :-;IB5 ejects; the fruit into theshredder cups. and the top; plate 3 I65'retains the remaining fruit the hopper'in the positionindieated-o This operation can take:

place :with great rapidity, the sliding mechanism of the feeding device-being so adjustedthat the injection OfJthe fruit intothe-separated hemifar less complex than the multipleeand expensive devices. heretofore used: to periodically charge,

fruit or other objectszintoa plant processingmachina and that itefficiently performs thefunctions for which designed..-

In theforegoingpIhave briefly, referred to the. desirability of utilizing. some form ofv clutch.

40 mechanism to stop the rotation in opposite direcwisfigure, the, clutch is.,pictured as. engaged. In

tions of the several peeler cupsat that time. in, their cyclewhenthey are open. to receive the fruit.

This is highly desirable forlseveralreasons: Rotation at relatively, high speeds-after the fruit has been discharged from the. peeler, units will natu-r rally tend to disseminate, haphazardly the 'fine shreds remaining in the peeler. unitsover the.

machine and over operating personnel and, also,

itis. far less diifi'cultto, charge fruit, into these.

being damaged or being unduly tossed aboutbefore they are properly centered within the shredder units.

Theclutch I'have designed 'is particularly well.

adapted to the" purposes mentioned. 11; com.- prises a clutch spring ZO-Ilywhich is' merely a helical spring, having. one end 20] bent to a position horizontal to theaxis of the drive shaft andv firmly secured to the spindle gear which forms the main drive of one hemisphereto the,

shredder assembly. The opposite end of the. springis provided with a hook 2'02, andiwhen the clutch is'engagedso thatthe peeler assemblies are rotating, this hook. portion partially encircles a. suitable pin 203, the. latter being aili'xed to, the collar. 20.4 of 'the usualfelement 205, comparable to. the element. 90.. hereinbefore described, which rides upomthe cams. 92-and 92a. to openand close the cup.,assemblies. The clutch. disclosed in Figure. 12 .wouldbe one .adaptedfor use upon the left .side of the. turret or in. con! junction :withthe. gearing F. and. as-shown in that other words, through the spring assembly the gearing F rotates the collar 204 and this being firmly splined or press fitted to the shaft 32, the latter is also caused to rotate. When, however, the element 205 engages the cam as indicated in dotted line at 300, that element is moved outwardly with respect to the turret and the helical spring is disengaged from the pin 203. When utilizing this form of clutch the spindle gear F is freely mounted upon the drive shaft 32 and when the spring is disengaged, as described, no drive is imparted to the shaft so that the cups are stationary at the same time that they are opened to receive fruit from the feeder mechanism.

From the foregoing description the operation of the machine comprising my invention should be apparent. Briefly summarized, the operation may be described as follows:

Fruit is charged into the hopper 4 which sorts the same to emit one orange, for instance, at a time. The fruit is maintained in the hopper by the feeder mechanism until rotation of the turret causes the feeder mechanism to slide backwardly at which time the orange assumes a position in front of the forward feeder plate. As the turret continues to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, the feeder mechanism is permitted to rapidly move forwardly, placing the fruit in a position to be picked up by the two peeler cups. At that time these opposed hemispheres are in their open position and are also stationary, i. e., they are not rotating in counter-directions to each other. After the fruit has been placed in a position -for retention by the peeler units, continued rotation of the turret will cause these units to close and cam 92, through the combination of elements described, permits these units. to rotate in opposite directions to each other at relatively high speed. Thus, during the major part of the cycle of the turret, the peeling operation takes place, wherein the cutter blades of each cup remove the skin of the orange down to a point where the latter is ready for slicing or juicing. During this major portion of the cycle which may occupy approximately 300 of the rotation of the turret, the peeling operation continuesbut ceases when cams 92 and 92a are again engaged as shown in Figure 1. At this time the peeling units engaging the said cams become separated, permitting the fruit to be discharged into the trough 5. At this time the counter-rotation of these units has again ceased due to clutching out of the spindle gears as hereinbefore described. As I have already inferred, during this approximately 300 cycle of rotation of the turret, while the peeling operation continues, it is apparent that the shreds or peelsfrom the fruit will drop down between the two side walls l and la of the turret upon the support 16. Although not shown, it is obvious that this support can be perforated or slotted or provided with such appropriate openings that these peelings will be discharged therethrough. A suitable suction conveyor or vacuum may be positioned underneath'the said support to remove the peelings and shreds to a location where further processing of the same can be done.

It is obvious that many changes can be incorporated into the embodiment of the invention that I have described without departing from the spirit thereof. Such departures may involve the use of belting as the sole means of drive of the various main, intermediate and spindle gears. The particular type of cam arrangement for separation and for control of rotation of these cup units is only one example of how an element of this type can be designed.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided a unique peeling and shredding device wherein rotation of two peeler cup units in opposite directions eliminates the necessity of spindling or spiking the fruit by some form of impaler to maintain it in position. The use of the described feeder assembly permits automatic opening and closing of the peeler cup units at predetermined intervals. The fioating" mount by which these peeler assemblies are maintained in position during their cycle of operation, such enabling the operator to interchange the size of the cups, and consequently, the blades with which these cups are provided, lend diversity to the machine, and permit its use upon a wide variety of objects, The simple cam mechanisms disclosed permit precision control of three separate functions: Counter-rotation of the peeler assemblies at predetermined times, opening and closing the same at timed intervals, and automatic feeding of fruit into the turret.

I claim: I

1. In a fruit peeling machine having a rotating turret provided with hemispherical peeling units mounted on counter-rotating shafts and adapted to peel fruit placed between said units, means to separate said units for the reception of fruit therebetween comprising bearing units positioned on opposite sides of said turret and in axial alignment with said shafts, a rocker arm supported in each of said bearing units, one end of said arm being slotted for sliding engagement with its complementary arm, and the opposite end being mounted on said shafts to reciprocate therewith, cams located adjacent the outer periphery of each side of said turret, said cams being adapted to reciprocate said arms by engagement with said sliding collars, whereby said shafts and said units are periodically forced apart to receive and discharge fruit.

2. In a fruit peeling machine having a rotating turret provided with hemispherical peeling units mounted on separate counter-rotating shafts, and adapted to peel fruit placed between said units, means to separate said units for the reception and discharge of fruit, said means comprising bearing members positioned on opposite sides of said turret and in parallel relationship with said shafts, oppositely mounted angular rocker arms supported in each of said bearing units, each of said arms being slotted at one end for sliding engagement with its opposite arm, the opposite ends of said arms having cam engaging means, and means to reciprocate said shafts when said arms are rotated on said bearing, circular cams on opposite sides of said turret to engage said cam engaging means, whereby said arms may be rotated and said shafts and peeling units moved horizontally with respect to each other.

3. In a fruit peeling machine having a rotating turret provided with peeling units mounted on counter-rotating shafts and adapted to periodically separate to receive fruit, each of said units having resilient segments, means for mounting said units in said turret com-prising projections upon each of said segments, a spider element with arms superimposed about the periphery of each of said units, said spider element being affixed to said shafts, the arms of said spider elements having apertures to receive said projections, and spring means between each of said segments and said arms whereby said units are positioned in floating and adjustable relationship with respect to each other.

4. In a fruit peeling machine having a rotatable turret and provided with hemispherical peeling units mounted on counter-rotating shafts and adapted to periodically separate to receive fruit, each of said units having segments, of resilient and spring-like material, means for mounting said units in said turrent comprising projections on each of said segments, a spider element on each of said shafts having a plurality of arms, arranged to surround said segments and in spaced relation thereto, said arms having apertures adapted to receive said projections, and a spring means mounted on said projections between said segments and said arms, said spring means being adapted to urge said segments of each unit inwardly toward each other, whereby said units are mounted in a floating manner and enable peeling of said fruit despite irregularities on the surface thereof.

5. A fruit peeling machine comprising a rotating turret, hemispherical peeler units in said turret adapted to open and close and to receive fruit to be peeled therebetween, said units being comprised of resilient arcuate segments having cutter blades on the inner surface thereof, said segments being mounted on shafts adapted for counter-rotation, cam engaging means to open and close said units, means for mounting said units in adjustable and floating fashion comprising projections on said segments near the point of widest diameter of said units, spider elements on said shafts provided with apertures to receive said projections, spring means on said projections between said segments and said spider elements for exertion of inward pressure, a slidable carriage for injecting fruit in said turret and cam means on said turret to actuate said carriage when said units are in open position.

6. In a fruit peeling machine having a rotating turret with hemispherical peeling units oppositely mounted on separate counter-rotating shafts, means for mounting said units in floating and adjustable relationship with respect to each other comprising projections on each of said segments, spider elements having arms afiixed' to said shafts and provided with apertures to receive said projections, and means to open and close said units comprising an angular rocker arm oppositely positioned for rotation on each side of said turret, said arms being slidably engaged with each other at on end thereof and engaged at the opposite ends thereof with said shafts, whereby said shafts and said units are separated when said arms are rotated, means for mounting said units in floating and adjustable relation ship with respect to each other comprising projections on each of said segments, spider elements having arms affixed to said shafts and provided with apertures to receive said projections, a slidable carriage for injecting fruit in said turret and cam means on said turret to actuate said carriage when said units are in open position.

LEOMA B. MAXWELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 990,449 Milhado Apr. 25, 1911 1,197,569 Woodland Sept. 5, 1916 1,467,616 Forry Sept. 11, 1923 1,483,676 Petersen Feb. 12, 1924 1,841,239 Caverly Jan. 12, 1932 2,030,182 Richards et a1. Feb. 11, 1936 2,166,883 Wehr July 18, 1939 2,205,059 Clark June 18, 1940 2,264,361 Chapman Dec. 2, 1941 

